The 71st Annual Hunger Games: Johanna Mason
by milkshakesw
Summary: Johanna Mason is the female tribute from District 7 for the 71st annual Hunger Games. She is lethal and ruthless with an axe - and that is only when she is cutting trees. Johanna has a strategy - act weak, so everybody will ignore you. Then, when they least expect it, kill them all.
1. Chapter 1

"You're on in a minute, Johanna," said Chlora. "Don't get too nervous, okay? You look great in your tree costume!" I almost rolled my eyes. Tree costume - ugh. Chlora was such an idiot. Suddenly the loud voice of Caesar Flickerman rang in my ears. As the large but shy male tribute from District 6 walked past me, Caesar exclaimed, "that was Titus everybody! Now, please welcome Johanna Mason from District 7!" As if Caesar had said something hilarious, the Capitol crowd laughed and cheered as I walked in stage. Sticking to my strategy, I pretended to be nervous.

"Hello Johanna, you look very nice tonight. A tree, very original!" I had to cough to cover my laugh. District 7 tributes have been dressed as trees for over thirty years, thanks to Chlora. I looked at the floor, hoping to look pathetic. "Johanna, tell us - have you a special strategy for the games? We are all dying to know." For a second, I was worried. How did he know? Then I realised that it was just the sort of question they would ask a seemingly helpless tribute. "I...I don't know. Maybe...maybe I'll just hide," I muttered quietly, hoping Caesar didn't hear. "Sorry, could you repeat that, Johanna?" I scratched my head and whimpered. I looked at the crowd to find my mentor. I wanted to see if my act was working. Eventually, I found Blight's eyes. He nodded in approval. A smile almost crept up upon my face.

Caesar, sensing the awkward silence, tried to lighten the air with a joke. "Well, that strategy sure has helped many other tributes win!" Caesar laughed histerically at his own joke, causing jovial shrieks and cheers from the crowd. As the buzzer rang to signal the end of the interview, Caesar grabbed my hand. "Johanna Mason everybody! Good luck to her!" As I walked off stage, I could almost hear him saying, 'she'll need it'.

As I returned to turned to my stylist and my mentor, Cyprus, my district partner, prepared to go on stage. He was the only person who knew about my strategy other than Blight. As his shoulders brushed mine, he whispered, "now I'm not even sure you're pretending," and I laughed, silently. After sitting through the rest of the interviews, I could tell that my stylists and escort looked at me with disdain. However, Blight was beaming the whole time and that was all that really mattered.

A few few hours later, as I went to bed, Chlora grabbed my arm. "Be up by eight tomorrow, okay? The games start at ten. Be ready." I sighed and nodded. I was annoyed that Chlora was the last person I could see before the Games, but otherwise, I was actually feeling quite confident.

As I laid in bed, I thought: I can win these games. So far, my plan has been executed flawlessly. My training score had been a 2, which exactly what I was aiming for, and I seemed completely weak to the other tributes, especially now after that interview. Cyprus, however, was another story. He had a training score of 7, the highest of any tribute save the careers. He had declined the offer to join them, and I was confident that when it came down to it, he could take most of them out.

In fact, there weren't many tributes I was worried about either. If I had an axe, I could kill them all in a matter of hours. But I wasn't even sure there would be an axe.

There weresome tributes that, deep down, I really didn't want to die. Whilst pretending to be weak, I of course attracted the attention of the weaker tributes - most of which I actually wouldn't have minded as allies. There was Noel and Lana from district 3, and the girl from Disrict 12, Terri, had turned out to be very nice. I never realised why tributes from 12 were so disadvantaged until she told me that they couldn't work in the mines (and becomes used to pick axes, shovels etc) until they were 18. I was pretty sure that only two people from District 12 had ever won - and one of them died thirty years ago.

Just as I felt I was drifting into sleep, hope filled me. I have all these idiots fooled, I thought. They think I am weak and helpless. Soon, they will be the helpless ones. Just they wait. In the second I lost consciousness, I whispered, "I've won this."


	2. Chapter 2

**DAY 1 - BLOODBATH**

60

The town square could hardly accommodate the many thousands of people summoned to witness the Reaping. After I signed in, I was grouped in a tight bunch of 18 year olds. Except for the 12 year olds, whose first Reaping was today, I was possibly the most nervous. I was nervous every year, but if I made it through this year, I would not have to worry about being selected for the Games again. However, my brother Cervus will come of age in six years, and after that, who knows what will happen.

59

A tall Capitol lady dressed in blinding yellow and sickening orange waltzed on the stage, clearly upset that she was here. This was Cicera Aster, the new escort for District 7. Rumor has it that she was the old escort for District 11 and was about to be promoted to District 2. When that didn't work out, they gave her the District halfway in between: 7. The mayor said a few words, then Cicera introduced herself. A video was shown of President Snow and Cicera explained the rules of the Games and the Reaping.

57

'Ladies first!' She chirped. Cicera's hand plunged into the reaping bowl. She pulled out a slip, and read the name. 'The female tribute for District 7 is… Johanna Mason!' I froze. Everybody around me seemed to repel from me. I didn't move, praying that somebody would volunteer. But nobody ever does in 7. I walked up to Cicera and closed my eyes. A silent tear rolled down my cheek.

56

I heard Cervus crying. He was with my friend's mother, who was trying to calm him down. As Cicera read out the name Cyprus Grovewood, I swore that I would win the games. The Capitol would not get away with this. So I came up with a plan. After I was sure of what I was going to do, I let out my tears openly.

55

From that moment, I relived every second until the morning of the Games. Meeting Cyprus, saying goodbye to my friends and Cervus, the journey to the Capitol, the chariot races, training, and the interview with Caesar Flickerman. I remembered how the audience laughed at my face when they heard my 'strategy.' They'll see. They'll all see.

54

I suddenly became aware of Claudius Templesmith counting down to the Games. I snapped out of my trance and surveyed my surroundings. I was in a lush, summery green field. As usual, the tributes were situated in a circle around the Cornucopia. This year, the Cornucopia was different. Instead of the usual gold horn, the Cornucopia was a large golden dome. However, the dome only had about four openings in which all of the supplies were, and they were relatively small. I applauded the Head Gamemaker whose name I couldn't remember. This would ensure a bloodbath indeed.

30

I looked at the tributes on either side of me. To my left was Titus, the male from 6, and to my right was Terri, the thirteen year old girl from District 12 who I had befriended during training. I felt like waving, but I knew it would be inappropriate. Cyprus was nowhere in sight. He must be on the other side of the Cornucopia. In fact, the only career I could see was Amity, the girl from 1. I found Amity strange because she received the lowest training score out of all the careers, an 8, and was only thirteen years old. I was sure that I had never seen a career younger than sixteen until then. I always assumed that the careers were always older because the older teenagers were always the ones that volunteered. Perhaps Amity was a volunteer?

10

I got myself into sprinting position and was careful not to step of my starting podium, because then I would explode. I set my sights on a silver backpack about thirty metres ahead. I figured I would grab it and run for cover. The field was surrounded in forest so I could just climb a tree.

3,2,1,... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET THE SEVENTY-FIRST ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!

My feet touched the ground the moment the siren went off. I sprinted hard until I reached the silver backpack. I was about three-quarters of the way to the Cornucopia. I could have grabbed the black pack a few metres ahead of me, but Lance, the male tribute from District 4, was approaching. I sprinted back into the woods without pursuers. I guessed nobody wants to waste their time running after a weak tribute.

As I reached the edge of the forest, I quickly looked back to assess the bloodbath. Already I could count at least five bodies but I couldn't tell who they were. The careers had already formed a group in front of the Cornucopia, and all six of them had already successfully acquired weapons. I ran further into the forest, for what seemed like hours. I didn't stop until I found a nice and tall tree that was inconspicuous and slightly out-of-the-way, which I scaled with ease. Since I came from the lumber district, I was accustomed to climbing trees.

When I reached near the top of the tree, I adjusted my legs and back to a comfortable position and rested. Abruptly, nine cannons went off. I realised that I forgot to check the contents of my silver pack. Viciously I opened the zip and found three items: a pack of about half a dozen throwing knives, a small rectangular box that held ice and a litre bottle of water. I was elated. The ice could serve as a cooler and as extra water. The temperature of the arena wasn't too hot nor too cold, though I knew it would be freezing at night like in previous years. In that case, the ice wouldn't help, but the extra hydration would.

Since I was apt with an axe, it could not be that hard to learn to use throwing knives. It was better than a spear or mace, both of which I failed to use in training - and that was when I was trying. It was getting dark, so I decided to close the bag and try to go to sleep.

Just as I closed my eyes, loud music filled the air. The emblem of Panem glowed in the sky and I attentively looked at the emblem to see which tributes died in the bloodbath. I quietly prayed that Cyprus was still alive. The face of the girl from five was shown, followed by the girl from six. Next was the faces of both the district nine tributes. Then were both from 10, both from 11, and Terri's partner from District 12. I sighed with relief. Though I didn't want to die in these games, I liked Cyprus. I probably wouldn't kill him unless I had to.

Suddenly I heard a noise from below. There was somebody almost directly under my tree. I looked down, and I could make out the vague figure of Titus. I wonder what it must feel like to find out that your district partner, the only thing you still have that reminds you of your old world, was dead.

I gasped. Titus was holding an axe! If I just quietly grabbed a knife, and threw it down, I could get that axe! I shook my head. It wouldn't work. I could barely see Titus, and I wasn't sure if my aim was so great. A scream pierced the air.

It was Titus.

Titus was screaming so loud that my ears were hurting. He was rolling around on the floor and clawing at the trees. For one horrifying moment, he was clawing on the trunk of mine. Eventually Titus calmed down and ran away.

I cursed. He just gave away my location! I wouldn't be surprised if the careers came next. I waited and waited, but they never came. I decided just to sleep.

I shifted into a different position so that I could sleep peacefully. I closed my eyes, and everything was black.

"That's nine down," I croaked ever so quietly. "Only fourteen to go."


	3. Chapter 3

**DAY 2 **

My eyes flew open as the loud cannon sounded. I was breathing heavily and sweating, even though it was quite cold and early in the morning. I shook my head. I remembered that the arena was a world of the Gamemakers' creation, so they could bend our concept of time to their twisted agenda as well.

I wondered who the cannon was. Fourteen different possibilities surged through my head as I recalled the already-dead. Was it Titus? Amity? Cyprus? I decided not to worry. It wouldn't likely be anybody that I knew. Hopefully.

The only thing I could even be close to certain about was that the kill came from a career. Of the fifteen that survived the first day, six were careers, and nobody else ever formed alliances. Usually. Even if an alliance was formed, it would be extremely unlikely for it to have more than six members - in fact, if it did that means that I would be the only tribute not part of any alliance.

Titus, for sure, would not be part of an alliance. From what I saw last night, just the first few hours of the Games had changed him. Maybe Titus made that last kill instead of the careers? In training he was a skilled tribute, but he wasn't vicious or cocky like the careers. His training score, 6, was the highest apart from the six careers and Cyprus. That made me realize; the training scores were, overall, pretty low this year. Would that weaken my strategy?

There was no way for me to know. It would be up to the Capitol crowd and the sponsors. My strategy gives me a better chance of survival, but almost certainly kills off any chance of sponsorship. If I win, it would be unexpectedly. Nobody would guess it, if I execute my plan well. I could not afford to reveal my battle skills too early otherwise I would become a known target for the rest of the Games.

I decided just to calm myself down and have a drop - just a drop - of my precious water supply. It wasn't too warm yet. I decided against putting some ice into it as I didn't want to waste the ice so early, and it was still nice and cold in its little freezer-box.

Despite Titus' appearance last night, I suspected that nobody was near my exact location, so I deemed it safe to go down to the ground and practice throwing knives on the trees. I would need to increase my skill with the knives so why not do it now?

Quiet as a mouse I descended by the tree and, carrying my silver pack, silently ran through the forest looking for a suitable place to practice. Unexpectedly, I stumbled upon a small crevice. I almost yelped but firmly clamped my hand on my mouth.

The crevice seemed large enough to fit me, so I squeezed through it. Amazingly, there were little bumps on the sides of the crevice, as if it was made for going down. I used the bumps to lower myself until I almost gasped in shock. Under where I was, the crevice gradually opened up until it became a large cave at the bottom. In this cave were small, but thick trees, and a small and clear river. After eagerly reaching the ground, I beamed with excitement. This place was perfect! If the water was drinkable, then it had everything. I could use the trees to throw my knives at, and if I needed to escape, I could just climb up the crevice. Even though I was eighteen, I was small and quicker than most tributes. The best thing was that the cave wasn't even visible from the surface! Any tributes passing by would think nothing of it.

For hours I threw knives against the tree as quietly as I could, occasionally stopping for water. I had plenty of water, but I could not deny that I was hungry. The cave made me curious, so I decided to explore it, smiling as I went.

As I explored the cave, the smile faded from my face. What if someone was already in here? Everything in the cave was awfully quiet. Even the river (or was it a stream?) made little noise. This cave was made either to be a haven or to be a trap. If being pursued by a group, the cave would offer no salvation.

As I decided to leave and climbed back up the crevice, I heard footsteps. In a rush but silently climbing, I wedged myself deep in the crevice and ensured that I was invisible from all angles. At the bottom of the crevice, Terri from District 12 appeared where I was only a minute ago. She didn't seem to know I was just there, but I was anxious nevertheless. Her young, wide eyes were bloodshot and she was gasping. For a second she looked at me and by chance, our eyes met. She opened her mouth, probably to scream, but no sound came out. Instead, a sword did. It was pulled out and Terri collapsed, limply as the cannon sounded. Her body fell into the quickly moving river.

Where Terri stood, Apollon from District 1 held a bloody sword. He was tall and blond, and would normally have been 'hot' but looked tired and in pain. The rest of the careers caught up with him, looking in a similar condition to him. 'She's dead,' Apollon said.

The girl from 4, Torah, nodded. 'Good. A waste of time, but good. Now can we get out of here?' My eyes widened. They hadn't noticed me yet, but surely they would if they climbed up here?

'Okay,' said Amity. She looked pitifully small among the other careers. 'Let's go back that way.' She pointed to the direction from which they came.

Another girl, whose face I could not see, remarked, 'why don't we stay? Nobody will find us here.'

Lance rolled his eyes. 'Mara, we are the ones who are supposed to find _them._ Besides, the water is poisonous and the wolves will come out eventually. Let's just go back to home base.' Whatever Mara was going to say wasn't said. All the careers advanced back to where they came from. Terri's body stayed, oblivious to everything. It floated downstream, where it would most likely find its way to a claw like contraption to be taken out of the arena.

When I was sure the careers were long gone, I quickly crawled out of the crevice and climbed the nearest tree. Not long after I reached the top the emblem appeared in the sky and the music played. The two faces tonight were the boy from District 8 (who must've died in the morning) and Terri. That makes eleven dead, thirteen alive.

Before I could think of anything else, I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**DAY 3**

Crying, crying, crying.

Crying is all I can hear. The crying of all of the families of the dead tributes and the people living in the districts without hope. The Games area symbol, a symbol of how helpless the districts are under the firm hold of the Capitol.

I refuse to be so helpless.

My arms and legs are stiff. I have a made myself uncomfortable by falling asleep before I remembered to shift to a comfortable position. I drank a bit of water while I thought about what the Careers said. If the water was poisonous in the crevice, where could I find water? Another river or lake? I realized that my water supply was running low, and I wanted to save the ice. I nimbly hopped down from the tree and silently jogged through the arena.

While I was jogging, I noticed a little bush with berries growing on it. I remembered it to be the exact same berry bush that was on the garden of my best friend Polly's family spices store. I never asked what the bush was called. When I make it home, I wouldn't be able to ask Polly or her family. Polly died of plague only weeks before the Reaping, and her family are still in mourning.

After what seemed like hours of walking, I could see snow capped trees in the distance. The trees I had encountered so far where all green, likely evergreen, so the sudden snow interested me. I approached the snowy trees, lithe as a tiger stalking its prey.

The ground dropped a bit, and as I went down the slight depression I realized there was a river dividing the two kinds of trees. In addition, the ground on the other side was pure snow. I couldn't believe it! Water! Trying not to be too loud, I rushed to the river. By reasoning I assumed this water would be drinkable, so I gulped down liters and refilled my bottle. The relief was astounding. I cupped my hands in the water and took them out to drink. My eyes widened as I saw the blood in the water. Looking at the river, I saw that blood was flowing from the west - and possibly body parts, too. A cannon went off. I had a creeping feeling this was the work of Titus. I ran to the east, as quickly and quietly as I could.

I ran and occasionally drank some water. When I figured I was far away from the killer (and cannibal) I sat down at drank a little bit more, until I was, dare I say it, full. Who would've thought. I was in the Hunger Games, and I was full! Well, not exactly. I still needed a source of food. But in the trees of 7 I had been told that teenagers could survive longer than a week without any food.

Seeing the special arena this year and last years disaster, I think the Gamemakers will want this one to go for a little longer than a week. As I climbed a tree not too close to the river, I almost chuckled. These games had been pretty entertaining so far. A tribute turned to cannibalism within three games and has killed and eaten at least one tribute, probably the boy from 8 too. How many tributes were left now? Twelve, because there were thirteen last night. I was halfway. Halfway to coming back home to Cervus, to a proper forest, to privacy and safety.

I wondered if there was anything else special about the arena. Mutts, if what Lance said about the crevice was true. More sections perhaps? Whatever it was, it would have to be good. The mishap last year was enough to disinterest much of the Capitol from the Games, though that wouldn't last long under Snow's watch.

The Games became so boring that the Gamemakers had to flood the arena, pretty much guaranteeing that the sole remaining District 4 tribute, Annie Cresta, would win. The problem was, though, that Annie wasn't the usual knight in shining armour career tribute. She had gone insane when Her District partner was beheaded in the early stages of the Games. Annie was also in love with Finnick Odair, also from 4, who won at the age of fourteen (youngest ever) about 5 years back. This was also problematic as Finnick was recently dubbed "the darling" of the Capitol, and was forced to be, more or less, a prostitute as soon as he turned eighteen, which was about a year before Annie was Reaped.

Thinking about victors made me realize that District 7 has about five victors, all of which are male. When I win, I would be the first female victor from District 7! I had a little rest while playing with the knives.

About an hour later, I realized it was going to be dark soon so I continued east, not exposing myself by walking too close to the river. I kept moving east until I was sure that I was past where the crevice was, maybe even past where the Cornucopia was. The only thing I noticed, though, was the snowy side of the arena.

Not much longer, I noticed a fork in the river. Between the two rivers was another section, which seemed to expand as the rivers stretched out. Looking closer, I saw that all of the trees were some kind of red, orange or brown. Autumn colours.

I looked across the river. Trees covered with snow, and trees with no leaves at all, exactly like during winter. Then I turned around and observed this section. Green all around, just like Summer.

Suddenly I was beaming. I bet there was a Spring section somewhere. I figured it out - the arena is divided into four parts, and each represents a season of the year! An interesting concept - I imagine it would do well in the Capitol.

I went to a tree a few hundred meters from the river and climbed it to the top. I thought I would try not to leave the summer section too much. I would to want to get lost in winter and freeze.

I laid peacefully in the tree, thinking about the arena until the sky blazed with the emblem and showed the face of the tribute whose blood and guts I saw in the water. To my slight dismay, it was Lana from District 3. I had talked to her and her partner Noel a lot during training.

I was tired, but it was dark and I thought it would be a good idea to check if the snow on the winter side was edible, and if so, to collect some. I climbed down the tree with my pack on and advanced past the river, wading through its shallow depths. Then I walked up a slight hill to get to the winter side. Before I could stop myself, I tripped and my head hit a tree trunk - hard.

That was the last I could remember before I saw black.


	5. Chapter 5

**DAY 4**

'No, Five, I don't think she is awake yet.'

I woke up suddenly to the sound of a teenage girl's voice. My eyes weren't completely open, but I could distinguish two figures leaning over me, one of which was the girl, the other the person called 'Five.'

'She could be an asset to us. Cyprus _is _her district partner after all.' The person called Five made some hand gestures and pointed to me.

'Training score of three or not, she will join our alliance! It doesn't matter how weak she is. That is what we are about, anyway. That is why Noel decided to make this alliance on the first night. To show them - you don't have to be a career to make an alliance or to stand a chance! Careers have won for the last nine years consecutive. We are going to change that - whether it be you, me, Noel, Cyprus, or her!'

'Excuse me?' I bolted upright much to the surprise of the girl. She fell back in shock. Five, who I could now tell was a tall, dark male, looked as if he knew I was awake all along. I cocked my head. Better watch out for that one. I remember him receiving a six in training, which made him stood out from the sea of fives this year. He was from District Five, hence his nickname, and from what I could already tell, was mute.

'Did you just say that you wanted me to be part of an alliance?' I asked the girl gently, seeing she was afraid.

'Yes… but you don't have to,' she said weakly. I tried to smile as if she wasn't an idiot.

'Of course, of course!' I rushed over to hug her. She was stiff and unsure of what to do, but eventually her arms went around my back. 'Name's Johanna. I'm from 7.' I reached out to the girl for a handshake. 'Satina. I'm from 8,' the girl replied, shaking loosely.

'That's Five. He can't really talk, but he can use hand signs.' I looked over at the boy. He was surely eighteen, like me. Satina probably looked somewhere between fourteen and sixteen. 'Did you say Cyprus was also part of the alliance?' Satina nodded fiercely in response. I pretended to look relieved. I can't lie though - I really did feel more relaxed now that I knew where Cyprus was.

'So is Noel.' Satina added. 'They'll be back soon. They went to collect water from the river.'

I nodded. 'Wait… is the river where you guys found me? Because the last I remember, I was collecting water from the river and then I blacked out.' I left out the part about tripping and hitting the tree. That was embarrassing, even if I am considered the weakest tribute remaining.

Satina shrugged. 'You'll have to ask Five. He and Cyprus were the ones that found you. Cyprus insisted on bringing you back. We tried to wake you, but it didn't work.'

I turned to Five, and he answered using strange hand gestures I didn't understand. After he was done, Satina translated, 'he said that they found you unconscious at the winter edge of the river. They couldn't leave you there, because you could have easily been found, so they brought you back. There was a small gash on your forehead, but it is bandaged and fixed now.'

I instinctively touched my forehead. There was a bandage on it. 'So you have been in here with him for three days and you understand all that?'

Satina shook her head. 'At home in 8, my cousin is deaf and mute. He lives with us because both of his parents are dead. Sign language is the only way I can communicate with him.'

'So is Five deaf as well?'

'No.'

I nodded. Slowly I began to survey my surroundings. The three of us were in a small camp. There were backpacks, a pathetically small first aid kit, and rolled up sleeping bags. We were surrounded by the thick, snow capped trees of the winter section. Suddenly we heard footsteps approach us. Cyprus and Noel emerged between two trees, each carrying three litre cartons full of water.

'What took you guys so long?' Satina grabbed a carton from Noel. 'You were gone for almost an hour.'

Cyprus shrugged. 'We thought we saw careers.' As he said it, he gazed deep into my eyes. Suddenly I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He seemed surprised, so I whispered _the plan _in his ears.

I greeted Noel and offered my condolences about the death of his partner Lana and took some water to drink. I also offered everyone the water I had.

'Is the snow edible?' I asked. 'No,' Cyprus answered. 'I had diarrhea and nausea for an entire day after having a mouthful. That was when Noel, Satina and Five found me.'

After some eating and drinking and a hour or two of silence, I thought of a plan. My plan would ensure a massacre within the next few days, and it would be almost certain that I would come out alive.

'You guys created this alliance to defy the careers, right?' Noel, Satina and Five all looked up at me. 'Then why don't we strike back at them? Show them that we are not completely weak and helpless. If we separate them into just two groups, we outnumber them. Three groups, even better. I think we have the power and the resources to render them powerless, if not make a stand by giving them a taste of hopelessness. Give them a taste of revenge.'

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Then, Noel whispered, 'what do you propose?'

I huddled the four of them in together and told them my plan.


	6. Chapter 6

**DAY 5**

The next morning, Cyprus woke me up early. 'If you want that plan of yours to happen by the end of tomorrow, we better get moving. I'll wake the others up.' I nodded as Cyprus gently woke Noel and Five. As he shook Satina, something fell out of her bag. I smiled (on the inside). It was an axe! An axe was just what I needed. My already high hopes rose even more.

'Hey Satina,' I asked once she was up, 'is that an axe in your bag?' Satina yawned, then replied. 'I salvaged it from the Cornucopia. Why do you ask?' I tried to look nonchalant. 'We could use it to collect wood, that's all.' That wasn't the _only_ thing I would use it for, though.

Five tapped Satina on the shoulder and pointed to the left. She nodded. 'Five and I are just going to collect some water. Can you three go and collect the wood?'

Cyprus, Noel and I went to collect wood, but we didn't go too far. Cyprus and Noel both had swords from the Cornucopia, and they used them to chop off branches. Noel, who wasn't particularly buff, struggled. Cyprus made sure to help him.

After cutting another branch down, Noel said, 'are you going to use the axe, Johanna? There is a perfect branch to the left.' I turned and saw a small tree with a long, thick branch only stomach high. For a moment, I panicked. I calmed myself down and remembered that I needed to play weak.

'I...I don't know how to. I tried in training but...'

'Aren't you from the lumber district? You would have experience with axes then, right?'

'Here,' Cyprus walked over to me and moved me to the branch. 'Let me show you how to use it.' Cyprus looked back at Noel to cover me. 'Johanna's job back home was to collect the wood, not cut it down,' Cyprus lied.

Cyprus put his hand over mine and our fingers laced together. Plan aside, I had to say I enjoyed it. It was freezing out here, but there was something warm about the air when we touched.

'You have to thrust hard, and make sure you hit the wood with the sharp tip of the axe.' I almost rolled my eyes at how basic it felt. But this was important.

Cyprus did a demonstration, and elaborated on how to use the axe. Noel was listening intently too, and kept watch.

'Now I'm going to let go and you can try.'

'Okay.'

'Cut in three, two, one...'

Cyprus put his thumbs up. I lifted the axe, paused for some suspense and almost threw the axe down. It seemed to bounce off of the branch before slipping out of my hands.

'Don't worry,' Cyprus said in fake frustration. 'I'll do it.'

For a second, it looked like he winked at me.

A few hours later, we had lunch back at camp. Satina and Five managed to successfully fill all the bottles with water without any encounters with the careers or Titus.

'I don't even think the careers know that we are an alliance,' Satina remarked.

'Good then,' Cyprus said. 'It will be an advantage for tomorrow.'

I wondered how big tomorrow was going to be. It could possibly even be the last day of the Games. All I knew was that not everyone in this group would survive. The plan would make sure of that.

'Speaking of tomorrow,' said Noel, 'should we set up?'

It was Satina who said, 'absolutely.'


	7. Chapter 7

**DAY 6**

'Should we call them soon?' Noel asked. He was shaking with anxiety.

Five made some gestures to Satina, and Satina passed the message on. "We're ready," she said, full of determination.

"Okay then," Cyprus said. "The plan has officially started," Cyprus went over to make a small hole in the fortress we spent all day making with tree branches and logs. Five wriggled through the hole, followed by Satina. Cyprus calmly refilled the hole with logs.

The plan itself was simple, but of course I had a backup. The plan involved making this massive fortress - which only took a bit over a day - and then sending someone to call the Careers from the river. Satina volunteered immediately, and Five insisted he go with her. They would bring the Careers back here, and there would be a battle.

This alliance was only formed five days ago to show that the Careers weren't the only ones who could be strong. All strategies aside, I really did believe in that. That was partially why I wanted to win. Tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 have won the Games consecutively for the last nine years. It was time that a girl for District 7 finally did.

For this reason, Satina, Noel and Five were dumb enough to be convinced that this plan would work. Cyprus knew that there was something wrong, as he had indicated with various winks and smiles over the last two days, and I think he realized that I only hatched this plan to kill off some more people so the Games could end quicker. I was expecting something like four or five dead by the end of the battle.

There were only a few small problems with the plan. The first and most concerning issue was Five. Apart from volunteering to go with Satina, he had never formally agreed to the plan. He always looked irritated when we were working on it. I was worried about what he would do. Would he kill Satina now? Would he betray us all at the last second?

I shook my head. I couldn't think these thoughts! "Are you okay?" Noel shivered. It sounded more like he was asking himself. "Yeah, just nervous," I replied.

The other minor dilemma was my strategy that I had held since the Reaping. Would I let it dissipate at today's battle? I knew that if I had an axe, I could kill three or four Careers easily - but I had to pretend to be pathetic in battle. Maybe I could act weak (but not weak enough to be killed) and make a quick escape at the right time.

I suddenly remembered that Satina had an axe. I looked through her bag. I almost giggled. The idiot did not even take any weapons with her to the river. I wondered if Five did.

I pulled the axe from the bag and dropped the sword I was holding. Cyprus said nothing, but he looked amused.

"Johanna," he mocked, "after yesterday you are seriously considering using an-"

A loud and sharp scream interrupted Cyprus. Satina. They were at the river. More screams filled the air and nobody spoke. I prayed that the Careers heard them.

The screams went on for a few minutes, and suddenly everybody was silent. An eerie atmosphere coupled with a shocking realization struck me.

I could die within the next ten minutes. My body, blood and guts could be on the snow and nobody in the Capitol would think twice about it.

This thought fueled my anger, and I became enraged.

After about ten minutes of anxious waiting, I heard footsteps breaking on the snow. "Guys," I warned, "be ready." Five emerged between the trees, from a direction completely different from the one he left. Satina was just behind him. Only a metre behind Satina was a big, bulky male tribute. It wasn't Titus, thank God.

As he got closer, I recognised him as Alabaster from District 2. I could just make out three other Careers behind him, but they were a lot farther away.

Noel hastily created a new hole in the fortress in the bottom layer, quickly but clumsily removing a few logs.

Five jumped through the hole as fast as lightning, and whirled around like a dancer and pushed Noel out of the way. My eyes widened.

As Satina reached out for the small opening, Five gathered the logs and pushed them back into place, too quick for Noel, Cyprus or me to react.

Satina looked into Five's eyes and broke down in tears. "Why..." She sobbed.

In a fit of rage, Satina threw herself at the fortress. Alabaster grabbed her left leg before she could even make contact, and he threw her away from the fortress and pinned her against a tree.

"Please, leave me alone," Satina cried. It was the end for her. Alabaster plunged his sword into her chest, and pulled it out eagerly. The blade was soaked with Satina's blood.

Satina's cannon went off just before the other Careers caught up. There were a total of four of them. Both from 2, Apollon the male from 1, and Tora, the girl from District 4.

I cast a sideways glance at Five, who tightly clutched the mace he had just picked up from his pack. He didn't take any weapons to the river after all.

I supposed Lance and Amity were guarding the Career camp and watching out for Titus. Or where they going to sneak up on us? Or was one doing each?

I took a few steps back. Everybody stood still just for one second, all awaiting the first move. I held the axe straight in front of me, and charged at Five, who was in front of me.

That bitch was going down.

I nudged his back with the axe so hard that the force sent him flying through the branches and logs, completely destroying half of the fortress. At that moment, all hell broke loose.

Mara and Alabaster moved around the sides of the fortress to destroy its remains, while Noel, Cyprus and I charged at Tora and Apollon. I made some weak swings of the axe at Tora, but was careful to dodge anything she threw at me - and make it look like luck.

I underestimated this girl though. I loosely swung my axe at her and she jabbed me with the hilt of the knife. I went down, and the axe landed a few feet from me.

Tora didn't even bother finishing me off! She went over to Apollon, who was losing in a sword battle to Cyprus. Even the both of them working together only barely equaled Cyprus' skills.

I crawled over to the axe, but before I could get to it, Mara and Alabaster pushed Noel on the ground on top of it. I cursed silently. Noel tried to get up, but Mara pushed him down before he could move. Mara swung her mace above her head and bludgeoned Noel with it.

Noel's cannon boomed.

I jumped up and ran for my life after the District 2 tributes were done with Noel. I sprinted past Five, who had recovered from smashing into the wall of wood. He looked at me with an intense anger and I distanced myself from the battle as much as possible.

I ran and ran. I never looked back. I thought some of the Careers were chasing after me, but I must have been hallucinating. Just as I reached the river, another cannon sounded.

I stopped just for one second. Who could that be? A Career? Cyprus? Five? Or maybe Titus had invaded the Career camp and had been killed. I would have to wait until tonight to find out.

I found myself at the fork of the river between the Summer, Autumn, and Winter sections. I remembered the Careers coming from north, which was where the Autumn section was. After drinking some water, I advanced back to the Summer section - I had been there before, and I was pretty sure that the Career camp was in either the Autumn section or the Spring section, wherever that was. The only person that could possibly be in the Summer section was Titus. I thought I could at least handle that risk.

I drank handful after handful of water, and nobody came. I heard some distant voices, so I swiftly scaled the nearest tree.

All four of the Careers that fought today came from the Winter section. They gathered some water and congratulated each other on the battle. "We still have to find those District 7 tributes," Tora muttered, "and that guy from 6."

After another few minutes, Apollon said "C'mon, we should get back to the Spring section. Amity and Lance will be waiting, and they will be very interested to know what happened today."

The Careers left, but I didn't get down from the tree until I felt truly safe. Besides, it wasn't even dark yet.

I spent the rest of the day alternating between drinking water from the river and sitting in the tree, thinking about home or the events of the day. The plan that our alliance had failed - but my plan within the plan was a success, all things considered. The number of tributes decreased, and that was all that really mattered.

When it was finally dark, I decided to take one more long sip of water and return to the tree. It was a good tree to hide in - tall, close to the river, and not too hard to climb.

As soon as I found a comfortable position to sit in, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke again at midnight. The emblem of Panem appeared in the sky and was followed by the faces of the dead.

Noel, Five, and Satina.

That was it.

Only three dead? I was hoping for twice that! At least my true strength hadn't been revealed in the battle, and at least Cyprus was still alive somewhere.

No matter how frustrated I was, I couldn't resist falling asleep again.

My final thought before I lost consciousness for the second time in that night was

"Until next time, Careers. Until next time."


End file.
